PHOENIX - Starting left-hander Eli Lingos tossed 6.2 shutout innings and freshman first baseman Lyle Lin drove in two runs as Sun Devil Baseball defeated Northwestern, 3-1, on Friday afternoon at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
Lingos (1-0) was in control the whole outing, not allowing a run while striking out six Wildcats. Lingos had command of his pitches all afternoon, not walking a batter. After pitching into the seventh inning just three times last season, Lingos retired the first two batters of the seventh before being replaced by sophomore left-hander Reagan Todd.
Freshman Lyle Lin laced a single up the middle in his first career at-bat as a Sun Devil, giving the Sun Devils their first hit of the season. With runners on first and second in his second at bat, Lin showed poise despite falling behind in the count 0-2, driving a two-RBI double over the right fielder's head to open the scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning.
With his two hits on opening night, Lin becomes the first true freshman to have a multi-hit game in the season opener since INF Zach MacPhee did it in 2009 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Pitching dominated the early part of the game as both teams remained scoreless through the first three innings. A single from junior Andrew Snow and a walk from junior Ryan Lillard presented the first scoring opportunity of the game for either team before Lin cleared the bases with his two-out double.
The Wildcats (0-1) got a solid performance from starting right-hander Joe Schindler, allowing two runs over 5.1 innings pitched. Schindler struck out four with just one walk. The Wildcats threatened with a runner in scoring position in the second, fourth, and fifth inning. Northwestern finally pushed across their first run of the game in the ninth inning, after pinch-hitter Jack Claeys drew a walk with the bases loaded.
After the quality start from Lingos, sophomore left-hander Reagan Todd tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Senior right-hander Eder Erives recorded one out in the ninth, before giving way to freshman left-hander Chaz Montoya. Making his first career appearance, Montoya would go on to strike out the final two batters of the game, earning his first save as a Sun Devil.
The Sun Devils threatened, but were unable to tack on any insurance runs until the seventh inning. Freshman Sam Ferri, one of three true freshmen to both start and get their first career hit in the season opener, starting the rally with a one-out single. After sophomore Gage Canning earned a free pass, junior Andrew Snow delivered with a clutch two-out hit to push the lead to 3-0.
Notes: The one-run allowed in the opener was the fewest allowed since February 17, 2012 against Western Michigan. With the win, the Sun Devils have now won 10 of the last 11 season openers and improve to 46-12-1 all-time in season openers. Four true freshman (C Sam Ferrri, 1B Lyle Lin, 2B Carter Aldrete, RF Myles Denson) started the season opener, while true freshman LHP Chaz Montoya also saw his first action. For the second consecutive season, Andrew Snow goes 2-for-4 in the first game.
Up Next
The Devils host Northwestern in the second game of the double-header at 6:30 P.M. at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The will be live streamed via thesundevils.com.